The Teacher Book Review.

Title: The Teacher.
Author: Miss Katie Hepner.
Gene: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance, Women's Rights, Biblical Worldview.
Plot: When orphaned fifteen-year-old Maria Dalton takes the job of Chesterfield's new schoolteacher, she gets more than she bargained for in the commission. The Grady boys, the troublemakers of the small relatively peaceful town, were successful in forcing out the last teacher, Robert Merrill, and intend to accomplish the same with Maria. Knowing this, eighteen-year-old Wesley Elliot, the school supervisor's son and good friend of the former teacher, decides to go back to school to protect Maria from the Grady boys. Working as a clerk when he's not in school, Wesley is in the perfect position to help Maria when she is unfairly accused of breaking a window during her first day of school and leaves the poor orphan looking for an opportunity to repay him for his kindness. Two years pass by peacefully and then the Civil War breaks out, interrupting the steady pace of life in Chesterfield. Wesley, with his mother's permission, enlists on the Union side and during the war keeps his mother and siblings well supplied with news and earnings sent home while also having several noteworthy adventures. During his absence, Maria finds the opportunity she looked for to repay Wesley's kindness to her and then finds herself besieged by the admiring young men of the town.
The turmoil caused by the war hasn't even ended yet before Darwin's Theory of Evolution becomes the talk of the town and the Women's Rights movement begins to gain momentum, causing many people to reconsider where they stand in their opinions. Wesley and Maria both stand firmly on the Word of God and never waver to the end, each representing the common views of the time, especially Maria who represents the little known views of the women of that time period before the Women's Rights movement disillusioned the majority of the youthful generation following the war.
Likes/Dislikes: The homeschooled authoress wrote this book when she was fifteen and for a first go at the noble profession of writing, it's pretty good. However, there is a lack of useful description and the pace is rather unsteady, moving too fast and causing the reader to feel like they must hurry to finish the book. The scenes, while very good and engaging of themselves could have done with a bit more explanation here and there. Some readers don't like a lot of description in books; I understand that and have no objection to it, so long as there is given at one point or another during the story some sort of rough sketch to give the mind something to envision. The characters were all drawn very well and I liked each one {expect the Grady boys of course} immensely and the arguments presented by the characters were all very good. Modern day readers must be aware, however, that our modern culture is vastly different from the Civil War one and therefore they ought to remember that the authoress isn't trying to attack or offend what society now takes for granted; she is simply trying to present us with the views of the women of that era in the most creative manner possibly and I applaud her for doing so!
Rating: G; I highly recommend this book to all readers, especially families with pre-teen and teenage children.
Date Report Written: March 19, 2011.